She fearfully pushed Fang Shugen's hand away, clutched her waistband tightly, and ran around the room frantically.
"Okay, okay, I won't come tonight. Don't run around, be quiet, and don't let my mom hear you coming over."
After hearing Fang Shugen say that, Hua Mei really calmed down.
Fang Shugen pulled Hua Mei over and said, "You should lie down on the bed and sleep."
Hua Mei followed him to the bedside.
“The mat got dirty last night. I’ll sleep on the bed tonight too, but I won’t touch you. You can rest for the night.”
Hua Mei huddled fearfully in the corner, slowly closing her eyes...
That summer was exceptionally hot, with very little rain, and the fields were severely dry. It was common to flood the fields at night.
Hua Mei's father passed away a few years ago, and she has a younger brother who is two years younger than her. All the housework falls on her mother's shoulders.
Hua Mei was very sensible. That night, her younger brother was fast asleep, but her mother had not yet returned from the fields. Feeling worried, she went to the fields to look for her mother.
The moonlight was dim, and she couldn't see her mother's figure.
She raised her voice, about to shout, when she suddenly remembered what the elders in her family had said: you shouldn't shout loudly in the wild at night, or you'll attract bad things.
He forced himself to hold it back and listened carefully to the sounds around him.
It sounded like her mother's voice coming from the cornfield.
She tiptoed towards the sound, only to find her mother entangled with a man, both naked from the waist down.
Her mother panicked and quickly pulled up her pants, lunging at her to cover her eyes.
The man grabbed her by the neck and threatened viciously, "If you dare tell anyone, I'll strangle you, kill your brother, and slaughter your whole family!"
Her mother rushed to grab the man's hand, but the hand was so strong that Hua Mei felt her chest was about to explode and she was about to suffocate.
"If you don't let go, someone will die!" her mother shouted, and only then did she release her grip.
Hua Mei could see her surroundings clearly by the moonlight just now, but now everything is black. Hua Mei shook her head, and her ears were ringing.
Hua Mei's mother stroked her chest from top to bottom, saying, "It's alright, Hua Mei, don't be afraid, it's alright."
But Hua Mei's mind was blank, as if she had lost her soul.
After returning home, she was in a state of mental confusion.
Her mother, concerned about her reputation, dared not take her to see a doctor, and instead told others that she had been frightened while walking at night.
She kept telling her, "No matter what you see, you can't say anything. If you do, Mom won't live. You and your brother have lost Dad, but you can't lose Mom too."
Hua Mei's condition is getting worse; she often suddenly shouts and screams incoherently.
Hua Mei's mother knew in her heart that she was the one who had harmed Hua Mei, and she also fell ill and passed away a few years later.
Hua Mei and her younger brother can only live with their grandparents.
After her mother left, she became more normal and spent her days doing chores at home.
Hua Mei's younger brother was also of marriageable age. Her grandmother said that with a "crazy older sister" around, it would be difficult for her brother to find a wife, so she married her off to Fang Shugen.
Fang Shugen lay on the outside of the bed, staring at the mat he had used the night before.
Last night, Hua Mei struggled incessantly, but he ignored her and forced himself on her based on his desire. It wasn't until afterwards, when he saw the bloodstains on the mat, that he belatedly realized it might have been because she was in pain.
Fang Shugen turned around, leaned close to Hua Mei's ear, and whispered, "Hua Mei."
"Ah—" Hua Mei hugged herself tightly, panicking.
"Did you feel pain last night? It's like this the first time. It won't hurt anymore after that, and you'll even feel better."
Fang Shugen kissed Hua Mei's cheek. "You get some rest tonight. I'm going to turn off the lights and go to sleep too."
Fang Shugen got up and turned off the light. He lay on his back with his hands on his stomach and soon fell asleep.
When Fang Shugen woke up in the morning, he saw Hua Mei lying next to him with her eyes open, looking at him.
When Fang Shugen looked at her, she immediately darted around and shrank further into the bed.
"You're awake too," Fang Shugen said, stretching with his hands raised. "Get up."
Hua Mei silently got up and put on her clothes.
Fang Shugen suddenly remembered something, turned to Hua Mei and said, "Hua Mei, you can't run out without clothes on anymore, understand?"
Hua Mei's hand, which was buttoning her clothes, paused, her face expressionless. Fang Shugen tried to hug her, but she remained dazed.
"Do you understand?" Fang Shugen hugged her tighter. "If you stay home and behave, we'll live a good life together."
Hua Mei's tense shoulders slowly relaxed, and her hands, hanging at her sides, moved slightly.
Fang Shugen let Hua Mei go open the door.
Hua Mei is still standing here; she doesn't want to leave the room and wants to stay here.
Fang Shugen walked to the door, but she hadn't come over yet.
Fang Shugen was also afraid that if he didn't keep an eye on her, she would run around like yesterday.
"Let's go, it's getting light, we'll go back to sleep here tonight."
Hua Mei followed him out.
Fang Shugen was beside her.
Tree Root's mother was making breakfast. She first glanced at Flower Girl from the side.
"Were you obedient last night?" she asked Fang Shugen.
"Mm." Fang Shugen nodded.
"Hmph!" Fang Shugen's mother's lips curled into a crooked arc.
"Eat breakfast first."
After breakfast, Fang Shugen packed the pesticides, slung the sprayer over his shoulder, and prepared to go to the fields.
Hua Mei walked over to him and also grabbed a hoe.
"Are you coming to the fields with me too?"
Hua Mei glanced at him but didn't say anything.
"We'll let you do the work in the fields in a few days; you'll have plenty of time to be busy." Fang Shugen's mother came over. "The breakfast dishes at home haven't been washed yet, and have the clothes over there been washed?"
Hua Mei put down her hoe and watched Fang Shugen leave the house with longing eyes.
After Hua Mei arrived, Fang Shugen's mother had an easier time, as the dishes and clothes were all taken care of by Hua Mei.
Fang Shugen's mother brought over a bundle of straw. "Do you know how to make straw rope?"
Hua Mei took a small bundle of straw, aligned it in her palm, tied it up, divided it into two parts, pressed one end with her thumb, and rubbed it forward with her wrist.
Looking at the tightly twisted straw rope, Tree Root's mother exclaimed, "Hey, this meal wasn't a waste of time!"
In one morning, Hua Mei twisted a bunch of straw ropes.
"Shugen will be back soon. I'm going to cook lunch. You can make some more." Shugen's mother got up to cook.
Hua Mei twisted the rope in her hands, occasionally craning her neck to look towards the door.
Fang Shugen returned carrying a sprayer.
Upon seeing Fang Shugen, Hua Mei's eyes lit up, and the corners of her mouth seemed to curve into a smile.
Fang Shugen put the sprayer at the back door, took off his clothes, and took a shower.
When I went to my room to change, I took the mat with me and used it to wipe away the bloodstains left from that night.
Hua Mei didn't rest; she quickly went to wash the clothes Fang Shugen had changed out of.
It was hot to sleep in the room after lunch.
Fang Shugen spread out a mat in a well-ventilated spot by the door and lay down for a nap.
Hua Mei glanced at Fang Shugen, who was sleeping on the ground, and then looked at their room.
That evening, after washing the dishes and taking a shower, Hua Mei went to her room on her own initiative.
"A lesson will teach them a lesson and they'll behave," Fang Shugen's mother muttered from the side.
Fang Shugen went into the room and locked the door.
Hua Mei sat on the edge of the bed, and Fang Shugen came to take off her clothes and pants, and she did not resist anymore.
Fang Shugen's mother also brought her out to work in the fields.
His family has a vegetable garden that passes by Fang Damiao's house.
Ever since Fang Meixiang married Fang Damiao, Fang Shugen's mother would always peek inside whenever she passed by.
Fang Meixiang happened to be at the door that day.
She noticed that Fang Meixiang's waist had become rounder. Could she be pregnant? She's only been married for a few months, and she's already showing?
"Meixiang, have you eaten?" she asked, feigning concern.
Fang Meixiang glanced at her with her eyelids lifted.
"Meixiang, Da Miao has been feeding you very well, you've gotten quite chubby." She reached out towards Fang Meixiang's stomach.
"Hmm! Hmm!" Fang Meixiang walked into the house.
"Tch, looks like you're pregnant. So fast?" He turned to Hua Mei and said, "Everyone else's belly is so promising, you should be too."
After Hua Mei and Fang Shugen started having normal sexual relations, she went to the room very early every day.
Fang Shugen's mother looked at their closed door and said, "She's a slut too. Once she's tasted it, she's addicted."
Fang Shugen noticed that Hua Mei seemed to be becoming more and more normal, and she would also make some of the expected responses during intercourse.
Hua Mei lay in Fang Shugen's arms, her heart growing calmer and calmer, and she seemed less afraid of everything.
She liked being in this room, just the two of them, Fang Shugen.
Hua Mei's emotions have been stable lately, and she has kept herself clean and tidy.
"It's better that Meixiang didn't marry you in the first place. She's not as good as Huamei. She can do all the housework. Meixiang can only give birth to children, and you have to take care of everything else."
“Mother, it’s all in the past, why are you still bringing this up?” Fang Shugen advised.
"I'm just so angry. I sent someone to talk to her, but her family still doesn't agree. This is the kind of person who still stirs things up. I want to see what kind of good life Fang Damiao will have after marrying Meixiang."
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